Many methods for composing alphanumeric symbols (letters and numbers, hereinafter "alphanumerics") from line segments exist. However, each one of these systems has its limitations and, as a result, many of these systems have never been commercially utilized. Those few systems that have been used commercially have been used only in a specific field, e.g., in games, educational apparatus, signage with illuminable or reflective materials, or signage with non-illuminable materials. Moreover, even within each specific field all of these systems have major limitations and thus have only been used in a very specific settings.
The signage systems using differentially-activated lines and illuminable materials have the following limitations:
(1) because only one basic arrangement of line segments, known as the Union Jack, with minor variations upon it, is used, only one basic typeface is available,
(2) because of the arrangement of line segments in the Union Jack some of the letters in this typeface are not always easily identifiable, and/or in a form appropriate for all signage uses,
(3) the Union Jack does not permit the creation of any aesthetic decorative patterns,
(4) because the lines in the Union Jack do not extend to the edges of the module no interconnections between modules is possible,
(5) and also because the lines in the Union Jack do not extend to the edges of the modules it is not possible to construct "moving" illuminable signage, i.e., signage that appears to move across a fixed point.
Resultingly, the system based on the Union Jack has found use only in small-scale non-moving illuminable signage where the aesthetic and other limitations are either of less concern or less noticeable. U.S. Pat. No. 3,106,696 to Foley, 10/08/63; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,012 to Morokawa et al, 07/20/76; and others demonstrate the Union Jack arrangement of line segments.